Sophomore guard Anderson key to Mids' seven- game winning streak. Head coach Ed De. Chellis meets individually with every member of the Navy men's basketball team following the season. De. Chellis tells each player what they need to work on during the offseason in order to improve.

For Shawn Anderson, the focus was to work on his perimeter skills — shooting, passing and dribbling. That wasn't surprising since the 6- foot- 4, 2. New Castle High in Pennsylvania, playing close to the basket on both offense and defense."Shawn needed to make the transition to playing on the perimeter. He had to become a better 3- point shooter and develop as a ball- handler."Anderson took the coach's words to heart and worked extremely hard during the spring and summer months.

He was in the Halsey Field House gymnasium every day hoisting shots, often under the direction of assistants Ernie Nestor and Jon Perry."The big emphasis was on 3- point shooting. I have to be able to make open threes if I'm going to play out on the wing," Anderson said. I got up a lot of shots and the coaches helped me with my form."Nestor, a 4.

Anderson had a few fundamental flaws that needed to be fixed. Coaches worked with the youngster on getting his elbow underneath the basketball and hands over his head."I had a little hitch in my stroke," Anderson admitted. I was holding the ball too long and releasing it while I was descending instead of at the top of my jump. I have to thank the coaches for correcting that."Anderson's hard work during the offseason is paying major dividends for the Midshipmen, who are riding a seven- game winning streak. Anderson has been instrumental in the surge and leads the team in scoring with 1.

The sophomore is second on the squad with 2. Shawn has been very consistent the whole season.

Most nights, you know exactly what you're going to get out of him," De. Chellis said. "He's scoring, he's passing and he's rebounding the ball. He's playing with a lot more confidence."Anderson had a decent freshman season, appearing in 3. On the down side, he committed 2. Changing his technique and launching hundreds of shots per day has made a world of difference for Anderson, who is shooting 5. We've been running some set plays for Shawn and he's delivered. He's made some big shots, some timely shots," De.

Chellis said. "He's very good with post- up stuff on the low block and stuff going to the basket. We run some plays where he cuts and catch the ball and either shoot the pull- up jumper or drive to the basket."De. Chellis said the versatility Anderson has displayed — the ability to shoot the three, dribble drive and post up — make him a difficult cover. Strong and ruggedly built, he easily overpowers guards who are not accustomed to playing low- post defense."Shawn has become a tough matchup because of his inside- outside presence. You need a multi- dimensional player in order to guard him."Anderson was named Most Outstanding Player of the Spartan Showcase after averaging 1. Navy's four wins. I was extremely honored and blessed to receive that award.

I give credit to my teammates for getting me the ball in scoring position."While De. Chellis discussed the offensive adjustments Anderson had to make in order to become an effective perimeter player, there were just as many on the defensive end."It's a lot different than what I was used to in high school. I was mostly going against guys that were fairly stationary and I had to hold by ground and body up.

Now I'm guarding smaller, quicker guys that I have to chase around screens and stop from driving. I've had to focus on moving my feet."Anderson is one of several members of the sophomore class that have displayed dramatic improvement. De. Chellis said swingman Bryce Dulin, point guard Nourse Fox, small forward Jace Hogan and power forward Tom Lacey have all come on strong."I think the overall confidence level of the team has changed due to more people stepping up as leaders," Anderson said. It's incredible to see how much better this team has gotten.